Sunday, September 12, 2021

Update: 12th Sept 2021

It's been a massively long time since I've done an update so no idea if anyone still follows the blog. Apologies for anyone who does.

Financially, it's been a slow grind. Positives, my job is still going. The project I am working on supposedly will be running another couple of years. I was shocked by that because I didn't really expect there to be that kind of work still left to do on it. If that is a true estimate then that's fantastic news. I actually love what I'm doing and it's been a long time I've been able to say that. It's a good group of people and supportive management. It's incredibly flexible which really helps with childcare. They seem to like me too. The downsides, there doesn't seem to be much work in my sector coming in. If my project is still ongoing then who cares? But it would be nice to know that there was other stuff. My salary doesn't look like it is going to change but equally the agency that got me the job negotiated a rate that was probably at the top end anyway so I can't complain.

The big financial hit so far has been my car. I bought an old but reliable Skoda Octavia 18 months ago. And it has been really reliable so far. I love it, it was old but it's the high spec VRS version and such a great car. But... I never appreciated servicing costs would be so high on it. The parts are the same as on a VW or Audi, it needs a high spec oil and benefits from being serviced by people that know what they are doing. What I thought was going to be a cheap service by an independent VW garage turned into £400. Then last week it went through its MOT. It passed with nothing major on it. But it did need a set of tyres to get through. So again, what I thought was going to be a £40 job turned into £300. But at least I know I've got a set of safe tyres. Next is the timing belt needs doing. I can probably stretch that out until the end of the year as I'm not doing much mileage but still £3-400 I have to come up with at some point.

I got the news on Friday that my electricity supplier, PFP Energy, had gone bust. So now I need to find a new supplier. I had a quick look and there's nothing anywhere near as cheap. All looking like an extra £15-20 a month.

And this week the government announces the 1.25% NI hike for next April too. From what I've read I'm looking at another £30-40 a month on NI. On top of rising food, fuel and energy costs. More than likely a council tax rise too. And it will be coming up to 3 years since I moved here so I'm expecting a rise in rent around that time as well.

So this week I've felt a bit bleak about the next 6 months or so. I'd already felt like I needed to cut back a bit more so that I can put more cash aside. That was before all of this. I guess I'm lucky that I live fairly simple. I eat a fairly healthy diet so no processed foods or expensive junk. I don't really drink (a couple of cans of Aldi Rheinbacher a week is my main vice). My social life has been non-existent for the last 18 months and sadly I can't see that changing much even with lockdown ending. My hobbies are cheap.

Mentally, I've been up and down. I'm still struggling with monotony but that aside, I go through periods of highs and lows and not much in between. I work out and go for a walk everyday which really helps. I've started a beginner's BJJ course last week and it is such a high afterwards. It really makes me feel good about myself.

One thing that is getting me down is that state of my clothes. There has been no point buying anything new so everything I own is full of holes. I mean literally everything is worn out. I do not have a single t-shirt without a hole in it. I have two pairs of jeans and they are both falling apart. Even the shorts I use for training in fell apart finally last week. I realise how counterproductive this has been. Normally you cycle old stuff out and new stuff in as you need it and everything keeps going on an even level. But every item of clothing I own needs replaced. It makes me feel like a tramp because there is nothing I can even wear to go to do my late evening shopping runs that isn't worn out.

I managed to have a nice holiday with my daughter though. I'd booked an Airbnb (as much as I absolutely despise the company and the social damage it does) at the start of the year when things were still cheap. We got a week away by the seaside for £230 which I'd paid off over the last 6 months. Our tastes are simple so not spent a lot on that. Playing in the sea, fishing, rockpooling, walking, so not a lot of expense. She doesn't really like restaurants but loves going to the chippie for a treat. Some cheap, simple meals from the little Co-op there. That kind of thing. I was worried I'd spent too much but when I added it up it was around half of what I was expecting. And yet it was such a good trip. So much fun, beautiful scenery and lovely to spend time with my daughter.

I'm glad summer is now over. I'm looking forward to some wildcamping over the autumn and winter. I really miss travel but I've accepted that the hassle just is not worth it. It's not the risk, it's just the faff of tests, the cost, the potential for delays. And honestly, I think my mental state would benefit from wandering round somewhere nice like I used to do but I also think it's going to benefit as much from camping in beautiful places. I could not give a flying fuck that I'll be trespassing and I could give less of a fuck that our arsehole government is trying to criminalise it. I'm pretty sure I can disappear into any piece of wilderness and not be found.

So that's it. If I had to make a summary, I'd say that financially I'm not in the best position but I'm stable. I'm slowly building my savings. Through hard work I've gone from nothing to £9500 plus a few grand in my pension pot. That's been a real sacrifice and often tough to achieve but I'm proud of having done that over the last 3 years. The first big milestone was when I realised I had 3 months of cash. The next big milestone will be passing the ten grand mark. I want to try and do that by the end of the year. To finish the summary, I'm still up and down but my resilience is extremely strong at the moment. I know I need to address my self-esteem as we go back to normal. And my urge to take off and do things on my own. So not bad but not good. If I had to pick, I'd say I'm on the up-slope.